Case Study - Why homesitters are the best option for clients

Posted on 7 August, 2017

More people these days are employing in home pet sitters and house sitters to come and stay in their homes when they go away, to keep them secure and look after any pets.

We recently surveyed our homesitters to find out what clients value most about our professional house sitting services. They told us the top three benefits were, “knowing they will return to a happy pet and a tidy home”, followed by having “someone to look after their pets” and “keeping the house secure”.

For clients, the peace of mind of knowing their home and pets are in safe hands when they are away, ensures they can relax and enjoy their holiday. And for those who have more unusual pets that can’t easily be taken anywhere, a homesitter is a real lifeline.

This was the case for London based Karen Hope and her family who have been using Homesitters Ltd for the past seven years, ever since they got a pet Vietnamese pot-bellied pig called Truffle and needed someone to care for him when they went away.

Pigs are sensitive and temperamental animals and they also don’t like to be moved so the family needed someone to live in their house and look after him.

Owning a pet pig was the idea of Karen’s partner Paul who is allergic to dogs. Originally, Truffle lived in the house but he was soon moved outside when he became too big and given his own sty in the garden.

The family now also have a pet dog Roka who is a Bedlington Terrier, a breed that Paul isn’t allergic to. Other additions to the household have been a corn snake called Toffee, a gecko named Bubblegum and a tortoise called Ginger. The family tend to go away every eight weeks and always use Homesitters.

Karen said: “The homesitters we have met have all been wonderful. We find them incredibly reliable and conscientious. We like to use the same ones if we can as they are familiar with our home and the animals’ routines.

“We like the combination of knowing that the animals are being well looked after and that the house is secure. As far as we’re concerned, Homesitters is worth every penny and I regularly recommend them to others.”

Karen explains that although some people may be unsure of how to look after a pet pig, Truffle is very easy to look after. He needs feeding every day and likes to be stroked – and after a root around in the garden he can be bribed back into his pen with a piece of fruit.

For people that travel regularly on business using a homesitter also makes perfect sense. Oxfordshire based Gwen Lawler and her husband work in the entertainment industry and run a production company from their home. Their work involves frequent business trips and they have been using Homesitters Ltd since 2008 to look after their pet dog and cat, Bilbo and Baggins, when they go away.

Gwen commented, “As we work from home our pets are used to us being there all day, so companionship is very important for them when we’re away. I wouldn’t put them in a kennel and cattery as it would be too much of a disruption – Bilbo prefers the company of humans to other dogs.

“Homesitters is money well spent as it gives our pets stability, and it’s reassuring to know that the house is occupied as there have been several burglaries in the local area recently.”

If you are going on away for business or pleasure and want someone to look after your home and pet, give us a call today on: 01296 630 730 or click here to book a live-in homesitter.